Friday, February 19, 2010

I’m a sucker for books on writing. I can’t pass through a bookstore without tracking them down, usually in the reference section, sometimes in the art section and occasionally mixed in among the books on gardening and origami. I enjoy skimming through the titles, opening up to random pages to see what kind of sage advice jumps out at me. But while I like to look at these books, I seldom buy any. It’s not that I’m a cheap bastard—my bank account shows that’s not the case—or that I think that they’re poorly written—they’re not—it’s simply that most of the books on writing appear to be written for people who have never written.

The books on writing that I’ve run across fall into/across a few broad categories. These include (but are not limited to) the basic primers (‘If verbs are the engines that drive our sentences, than adjectives are the windows that show us what’s racing by’), the how-tos that explain the obvious (‘You need to create characters that feel like real people’), the memoir-cum-writing book (‘I used the pain from my breakup, channeling it into my characters, finding solace and revenge as my heroine pushed the car off the cliff onto her worthless, cheating, lying ex-boyfriend who happened to share the same name as my ex-boyfriend.’), and the mystical-BS books (’Only by finding your inner travel-buddy-writer-coach—what the ancient OOloçoloþs called their wazizits—will you allow your true storyteller-self to cross the void.’).

I seldom find a book that offers practical advice for the published author/active writer looking to hone his/her craft so that he/she doesn’t end up writing sentences that sound like this one.

Over the years I have found a few I love – The Lie That Tells the Truth by John Dufresne, Maps of the Imagination by Peter Turchi and The Adventurer by Paul Zweig*. This week I add a new book to that list, The Writer’s Notebook: Craft Essays from Tin House.

Tin House is a literary magazine, filled with the kind of literary fiction that some (many? most?) casual readers find a tad too literary for their tastes. The book’s contributors—people whose names I apparently should know—have written all sorts of award winning novels and poems and non-fiction pieces. I doubt I would have bumped into any of them at Bouchercon, but after reading their essays, I would like to buy them each a beer.

These are essays aimed at other writers, with all the basics assumed and all (most) of the mystic touchy-feely crap pared away. Like any collection, there are a few not-so-brilliant entries, but even these are worth a read. After reading the essays (some twice), I can’t cite any specific advice that I can sum up in a bullet point—and that’s a good thing. Anything that can be that easily stated is so obvious to be worthless. Instead, I came away with a clearer sense of what works and why, what’s essential and what’s baggage, what I’ve been doing right and what I need to try to do next. And I came away inspired to be a better, more thoughtful writer.

So, fellow writers, what books on writing are on your shelf?

*Good luck finding this one – it was last published in 1974. It’s a deeper explanation of the role of the hero’s journey in fiction, predating Frey’s own damn good book, The Key: How to Write Damn Good Fiction Using the Power of Myth

In a bit of serendipity, I'm currently working on a non-fiction book, tentatively titled You Too Can Make Hundreds of Dollars Writing Crime Fiction; Let a master at the craft sort show you how. Every single writer on the planet should read this book and give multiple copies to all their writer-friends.

Act now and you'll receive ABSOLUTELY FREE a set of Ginzu steak knives! That's right. You'll get a set of 6 knives that everyone is talking about for every 10 copies of Rick Blechta's fabulous book on writing you order.

But wait, there's more!

Order 50 copies of Blechta's book and he'll add you to the cast of characters in his next novel*. Wow! Show your friends, show your parents, show the parents of your friends. Everyone will be so impressed.

Act now! Order today!!

*We're sorry but we can't guarantee that your character in the book won't die a horribly painful death. But for the purchase of 50 MORE books, we can guarantee that your death as a character will be quick and painless.

AVAILABLE FOR THE NEXT 10 MINUTES ONLY: Sponsor this book to the tune of 5 figures and we'll throw in a Golden Medallion Home, the total in electric living.

As I'm sure I've repeated dozens of times, Steven Pressfield's "The War of Art" is my very favorite book for writers. I also like Elmore Leonard's Ten Rules of Writing (number 6 - "never use 'suddenly' or 'all hell broke loose.")

Rick Blechta writes on Tuesdays

Barbara Fradkin writes on alternate Wednesdays

Sybil Johnson writes on Alternate Wednesdays

John Corrigan writes on alternate Thursdays

Donis Casey writes on alternate Thursdays

Charlotte Hinger writes on alternate Fridays

Frankie Bailey writes on Alternate Fridays

Vicki Delany writes on the second weekend of every month

Mario Acevedo writes on the 4th Saturday of each month

Aline Templeton

Aline Templeton lives in Edinburgh in a house with a balcony overlooking the beautiful city skyline. Her series featuring DI Marjory Fleming is set in beautiful Galloway, in South-west Scotland. alinetempleton.co.uk

Marianne Wheelaghan

Marianne is from Edinburgh. She left home at seventeen. After a heap of travelling, which included living in Kiribati, the third most remote country in the world, she ended back in Edinburgh where she still lives very happily. Her crime mysteries feature DS Louisa Townsend, The Scottish Lady Detective, and are mostly set in the Pacific. Read more about Marianne and her books on her blog: www.mariannewheelaghan.co.uk and at @MWheelaghan

Rick Blechta

Rick has two passions in life, mysteries and music, and his thrillers contain liberal doses of both. He has two upcoming releases, Roses for a Diva, his sequel to The Fallen One, for Dundurn Press, and for Orca’s Rapid Reads series, The Boom Room, a second book featuring detectives Pratt & Ellis. You can learn more about what he’s up to at www.rickblechta.com. From the musical side, Rick leads a classic soul band in Toronto. Check out SOULidifiedband.com. And lastly, being a former line cook with an interest in all things culinary, he has a blog dedicated to food: A Man for All Seasonings.

Barbara Fradkin

Barbara Fradkin is a retired psychologist with a fascination for how we turn bad. Her dark short stories haunt the Ladies Killing Circle anthologies, but she is best known for her award-winning series featuring the quixotic, exasperating Ottawa Police Inspector Michael Green, published by Dundurn Press. The ninth book, The Whisper of Legends, was published in April 2013. Visit Barbara at barbarafradkin.com.

Sybil Johnson

Sybil Johnson’s love affair with reading began in kindergarten with “The Three Little Pigs.” Visits to the library introduced her to Encyclopedia Brown, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and a host of other characters. Fast forward to college where she continued reading while studying Computer Science. After a rewarding career in the computer industry, Sybil decided to try her hand at writing mysteries. Her short fiction has appeared in Mysterical-E and Spinetingler Magazine, among others. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, she now lives in Southern California where she enjoys tole painting, studying ancient languages and spending time with friends and family. Find her at www.authorsybiljohnson.com.

John R Corrigan

John R. Corrigan is D.A. Keeley, author of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agent Peyton Cote series, which is set along the Maine-Canada border. Bitter Crossing (summer 2014) will be the first of at least three novels in the series. Born in Augusta, Maine, he lives with his wife and three daughters at Northfield Mount Hermon School in western Massachusetts, where he is English department chair, a teacher, a hockey coach, and may very well be the only mystery writer in North America who also serves as a dorm parent to 50 teenage girls. A Mainer through and through, he tries to get to Old Orchard Beach, Maine, as often as possible. You can see what he's up to by visiting www.amazon.com/author/DAKeeley or dakeeleyauthor.blogspot.com or on Twitter (@DAKeeleyAuthor).

Donis Casey

Donis is the author of six Alafair Tucker Mysteries. Her award-winning series, featuring the sleuthing mother of ten children, is set in Oklahoma during the booming 1910s. Donis is a former teacher, academic librarian, and entrepreneur. She lives in Tempe, AZ, with her husband, poet Donald Koozer. The latest Alafair Tucker novel, The Wrong Hill to Die On (Poisoned Pen Press, 2012), is available in paper or electronic format wherever books are sold. Readers can enjoy the first chapter of each book on her web site at www.doniscasey.com.

Frankie Bailey

Frankie Y. Bailey is a criminal justice professor who focuses on crime, history, and American culture. Her current project is a book about dress, appearance, and criminal justice. Her mystery series featuring crime historian Lizzie Stuart is set mainly in the South. Her near-future police procedural series featuring Detective Hannah McCabe is set in Albany, New York. Visit Frankie at frankieybailey.com.

Charlotte Hinger

Charlotte Hinger is a novelist and Western Kansas historian. Convinced that mystery writing and historical investigation go hand in hand, she now applies her MA in history to academic articles and her depraved imagination to the Lottie Albright series for Poisoned Pen Press. charlottehinger.com

Vicki Delany/Eva Gates

Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers. She is the author of more than 25 books, including the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series, the Year Round Christmas cozy series, the Constable Molly Smith books, standalone novels of suspense, the Klondike Gold Rush series, and novellas for adult literacy. As Eva Gates, she is the author of the national bestselling Lighthouse Library cozy series from Penguin. Find Vicki at www.vickidelany.com and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/evagatesauthor/

Mario Acevedo

Mario Acevedo is the author of the Felix Gomez detective-vampire series. His short fiction is included in the anthologies, You Don’t Have A Clue: Latino Mystery Stories for Teens and Hit List: The Best of Latino Mystery, and in Modern Drunkard Magazine. Mario lives with a dog in Denver, CO. His website is marioacevedo.com.